Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, for the opportunity to speak with you today about a critical aspect of our nation's energy future: the resilience of our electricity grid.
As we navigate the complexities of reliability, affordability, adverse weather impacts, technological advancements and increased electrification, it's imperative that we recognize the pivotal role of the workforce in maintaining and enhancing grid resiliency.
Our vision at EHRC is to build the world's leading electricity workforce, one that will power our nation's grid, ensure reliability and support a clean economy for future generations. We deliver critical business intelligence to inform labour market decision-making and lead the industry in creating and sustaining a safe, skilled and inclusive workforce.
The electricity sector is undergoing a significant transformation. Over the past five years, we've seen a 12% increase in total employment within the sector—almost twice that of the broader Canadian economy at 7%—to a workforce of 110,000 strong. However, EHRC's labour market modelling suggests that by 2028, in a net-zero scenario, we're looking at 28,000 total new openings. Nearly half of the sector's core occupations are expected to face labour shortages: engineering, the skilled trades and, especially, information and communication technology.
To address these challenges, we must focus on three key areas: attracting and retaining talent, upskilling and re-skilling our workforce and fostering a culture of inclusion.
First, we need targeted recruitment campaigns to draw talent into the sector. Offering competitive compensation and benefits packages will help retain the skilled workers we already have, and attraction starts early. EHRC is currently engaging middle school youth with projects like our series of great Canadian electricity maps that are 8 metres by 11 metres in size. They chart the generation facilities, transmission infrastructure, indigenous treaty territories and language groups, as well as the history of electricity in Canada.
The map has over 70 QR codes that trigger videos on a standard smart phone of people working in the industry, like Cherise, the boilermaker at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington nuclear facility, who's talking about her career in the industry and why it's important to her—and fun. It comes with six units for teachers, aligning with middle school curricula in science, social studies and geography. By engaging with more young people, we can ensure that our workforce remains robust and capable of meeting the demands of a rapidly evolving industry: 8,100 students walked across that map last year.
Second, expanding training programs and upskilling and re-skilling are crucial. Technological advancements necessitate updated and new training program delivery. Developing partnerships between industry and educational institutions and expanding those partnerships to create such programs is vital.
It's clear that as technology is changing, our training programs need to become more agile to respond to this need. While baseline skills like electricity fundamentals are absolutely still necessary and critical, established partnerships between industry and education on work-integrated learning and research and development will be critical to respond to emergent skills needs.
Furthermore, creating the conditions for continuous professional development opportunities will ensure that our workers have the necessary skills to adapt to technological changes over time. This includes paid leave to pursue professional development and incentives for employers to either share costs or pay in full for employee upskilling. This approach will not only enhance workforce capabilities but also boost employee confidence and job satisfaction over the long term.
Third, fostering diversity and inclusion is a strategic imperative. The face of the Canadian workforce has changed, but we have seen only incremental improvements in representation in our industry. Enhancing workforce diversity is essential for fostering innovation and addressing labour shortages. There's plenty of research demonstrating this. We must implement strategies to attract and retain more under-represented groups, including women, indigenous peoples, Black and racialized people, people with disabilities and newcomers to Canada. A diverse workforce brings a variety of perspectives and ideas, driving both innovation and efficiency.
To achieve these goals, we need strategic workforce initiatives. Collaborating with industry stakeholders, government and educational institutions will align workforce development with sector needs. Establishing mentorship and apprenticeship programs will facilitate knowledge transfer and skills development. These partnerships will create a supportive ecosystem that nurtures talent and prepares our workforce for the future.
In conclusion, the workforce is a cornerstone of the electricity sector's ability to maintain and enhance grid resiliency. By addressing labour market challenges through strategic initiatives, we can ensure that the sector meets its reliability, affordability and decarbonization objectives. Focusing on attracting, retaining and developing a skilled and diverse workforce will enable Canada to build a resilient electricity grid capable of supporting a sustainable future.
Thank you for your time today.
I look forward to further discussion of the importance of the workforce to powering Canadian homes, businesses and other critical infrastructure.